Schlüsselwörter

Redaktion

M. Bernhard, Düsseldorf

M. Helm, Ulm

T. Wurmb, Würzburg

Terror attacks worldwide and in Europe—history, overview, current situation

Abstract

Terror attacks happen worldwide; however, from a European perspective, the perception has significantly changed in recent years. In 2016 more than 25,000 people died following terror attacks, the majority in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. In Europe more than 150 people died each year between 1970 and 1992, mainly after politically motivated attacks, over half of these in the United Kingdom. After a decline in terror-associated deaths in the 1990s, the number of deaths in Europe began to rise again in 2004. Since 2004, there have been a number of coordinated bomb attacks on public transport in major European cities (Madrid 2004, London 2005). Since 2010, there have been a number of mass shootings, partly in combination with bombs. Truck attacks where a large vehicle is deliberately driven into a group of people have happened since 2016; examples are the attacks in Nice and Berlin in 2016 and Barcelona in 2017 and pose new challenges for security forces and rescue services dealing with these attacks. Multiple attack sites in one city, the risk of second hits, and previously rarely seen blast injuries and gunshot wounds required new tactics.